Man awarded $1.6M over flooding, citing frog phobia

CLARENCE, N.Y. (AP) – A western New York man will get $1.6 million to settle a dispute that left him hopping mad when flooding from a nearby development left him inundated with frogs.

The award settles a seven-year legal fight involving Paul Marinaccio, the town of Clarence and a developer.

Marinaccio says runoff diverted onto his 40-acre property turned it into wetlands filled with frogs. He says the abundant amphibians forced him inside because a childhood incident left him with a crippling frog phobia.

The Buffalo News reports that the dispute was resolved last month when the State Court of Appeals decided Marinaccio wasn't entitled to punitive damages.

The developer's attorney says his client did only what the town told him to do.

A drainage channel will be dug under a post-verdict agreement.

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